Advance tickets needed to attend on Kentucky Derby Day at Santa Anita
Santa Anita officials expect an ontrack crowd of approximately 8,000 for the Kentucky Derby simulcast on May 1 and are urging customers to book tickets in advance.
The track resumed hosting limited audiences on April 2 for the first time since early March 2020 as part of revamped policies for outdoor sporting events in Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles Dodgers had 15,167 in attendance on Thursday evening at a stadium with capacity for 56,000.
Santa Anita has an online ticket system in place on its website – santaanita.com/open – to facilitate purchases. All tickets must be purchased in advance.
“We’re opening all outdoor areas,” general manager Nate Newby said. “I think we’ll have a good crowd. Early ticket sales are good.
“If we sell out early next week, it won’t be much more than 8,000.”
On May 1, Santa Anita is opening at 7 a.m. Pacific, to accommodate customers who want to bet the first race at Churchill Downs at 7:30 a.m. First post time at Santa Anita will be noon.
The limited audience is a change from this time last year when Santa Anita was deemed a nonessential business by county health officials and did not race from late March to mid-May.